Boston, MA 02/27/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is up and rising in Pre-market hours as the electric car maker is out with its decision over the much awaited gigafactory plans, which followed some of the positivity flowing in from the analysts corner.
Biggest Battery Project
On Wednesday, Tesla confirmed that it will initiate the gigafactory construction in 2014-2015 and the first slot of production is expected in 2017. The facility, which is expected to be the biggest across the globe will cover 10 million square feet of space and will employ nearly 6.5 thousand workers. Moreover, it will reach it’s peak production point in the year 2020. Tesla along with its partners will collectively invest $5 billion towards the construction of the facility.
In this direction, the company announced a $1.6 billion convertible note offering to utilize the proceeds towards fulfillment of the proposed facility. Under the offer, $800 million notes will have maturity on 2019 and the rest $800 million notes due to maturity on 2021
During the announcement, Tesla Motor’s CEO Elon Musk highlighted the efficiency achieved through the proposed factory. Firstly, the company predicts that the factory will hold the capacity to produce enough batteries to mass produce more than 500,000 Gen III cars by 2020. Additionally, the output will surpass the current global battery production in 2020. Moreover, the factory will also lead to reduction in per-kWH battery costs by more than 30%.
Positive Reports From Analysts
Tesla’s plans gets a thumbs-up from the analysts from all the corners. BAML’s analyst John Lovallo reiterated its price target of $65 per share over the company. At the same time, Wedbush’s analyst Craig Irwin raised his price target widely to $295 from the earlier set $70. He cited that the earnings forecast for the year 2017 is raised on the basis of lower costs driving gross margins of the company within a year of production start at the new facility. Similarly, Baird’s analyst Ben Kallo too, seemed to foresee a better future of Tesla’s proposed plans. He maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and set a $245 price target for the company. He mentioned in his research report that first of all, the capital raise will lead to lower dilution as against an equity capital raise and according to him the capital expenditure to the tune of $4-$5 billion is lower than the usual estimates.
